Microbes and Society, Second Edition is designed for liberal arts students as a foundation course in life science. This timely text takes readers on an extended tour of the microbial world emphasizing the remarkable variety among microbes and their role in our everyday lives. It explores such topics as the function of microbes in ecology and the environment, the use of microbes in biotechnology, the role of microbes in food production, as well as coverage of bioterrorism, antibiotic resistance, and microbial diseases. Students will be engaged with the authors' lively presentation of microbiology and how microorganisms touch our lives, for both good and bad, on a daily basis.